Dish urged the FCC to hold the proceeding...
Dish urged the FCC to hold the proceeding on SoftBank’s bid for Sprint Nextel in abeyance or review the would-be acquirer’s relationship with Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba by holding a hearing. In an ex parte filing, the DBS company cited…
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a report from Reuters last week on claims that SoftBank warned banks that funding Dish’s $25.5 billion offer for Sprint would hurt their chances of participating in Alibaba’s planned IPO (http://reut.rs/11ZsOHX). SoftBank “is trying to force its offer on Sprint’s shareholders by underhandedly seeking to undermine a superior bid,” Dish said. The reported conduct raises questions about the relationship between SoftBank and Alibaba and it highlights the problems of the proposed foreign ownership in this case “because SoftBank is subject to fewer relevant restrictions than a U.S. company would be,” it said. Dish separately offered $2.6 billion in bonds to help fund its bid for Sprint. If on or before the escrow end date, Dish doesn’t acquire or merge with Sprint, or it abandons its efforts to buy Sprint, “Dish DBS will be required to redeem all of the notes,” said Dish in a news release (http://bit.ly/104GnVr). The offering is expected to close May 28, it said. The DBS company said Wednesday that it’s offering $2.5 billion in debt toward the bid (CD May 15 p25). SoftBank had no immediate comment.